Buckeye Lake began as a public park in 1894 when the Ohio General Assembly gave Licking Reservoir the name Buckeye Lake. After the Columbus, Buckeye Lake and Newark Traction Company's Interurban Electric Railway was completed in 1904, the company developed tourist attractions on a nine-acre tract along the lake's north shore to encourage weekend travel. By 1911, the area included two dance pavilions, a swimming beach and bath house, an arcade, a picnic area and ballpark, boat excursions, and power boat races. In the 1920s, new rides such as a ferris wheel and a spinning car ride were added, and work began on the Dips roller coaster near the end of the decade, while free admission and inexpensive tickets made the attractions widely accessible. During the Great Depression, the amusement park offered affordable family entertainment, with the Dips and the Skateland roller rink among its favorite attractions. In the 1940s, the park reached its height, drawing as many as 50,000 visitors a day; Crystal Pool hosted water shows by Hollywood celebrities, and the Crystal Ballroom and Pier Ballroom welcomed leading big bands including Glen Miller and Louis Armstrong. In 1949, Buckeye Lake was officially designated an Ohio State Park with the creation of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and although the amusement park has disappeared apart from its former midway fountain, the state park remains.

Photo: William Fischer, Jr.

Hebron, Ohio · USA